Coue and Job - A Biblical Connection

"Every day, in every way, I'm getting better and better."

Emile Coue, a French psychologist and pharmacist, generated this phrase in the early 20th century while running a free clinic in Nancy.This may have been the start of the self-help industry.While millions, perhaps billions, of people have used this phrase or one of those that has followed, to improve their lives, their businesses and their relationships, Coue himself said, “I have never cured anyone in my life. All I do is show people how they can cure themselves."

Coue helped many over the last hundred years but his thought process could have, almost, been taken directly from The Bible.

The Book of Job says, "For the thing that I feared has overtaken me, and what I dreaded has come true."Job suffered great loss.He suffered the death of his children and the loss of his possessions.He suffered physically as well as emotionally.

Job’s lament, that all the things that he feared “overtook him” seems to be the opposite of Coue’s statement that things will get better.But modern psychological thought shows that they are closely related.

I have a speech to give tomorrow.Perhaps I’m running for political office.There may be a few dozen attendees, there may be up to 250.The night before while putting the finishing touches on my presentation, I realize that there are things that I’m still not sure about.Potential questions pop into my head that I probably can’t answer.Nerves kick in.I have never been comfortable speaking in public.I have trouble sleeping.I’m tired and dry mouthed in the morning as I drive to the event.

I’m worried.I’m sweating.Panic starts to set in.I am introduced and I can’t remember my words.Even the parts of the subject that I know, I end up sounding like I’m reading someone else’s words.I look bad, I feel bad.I see a few attendees drift off to other parts of the room.I manage to finish the talk and a few friends tell me that I did “OK” but I know, in my heart, that I’m not a good public speaker.

I’m Job! I didn’t lose my family or my fortune but everything that I was afraid of befell me.I expected to fail, I planned to fail, I failed.

What would Emil Coue have to say about my preparation?Coue would tell me that I’m “getting better and better” every day.

Coue tells us that positive affirmations (talking about what we want) are stronger than negative affirmations (talking about what we fear or what we don’t want.)

Does this apply elsewhere?

How does a smoker (to take a classic example) quit smoking if their self-talk tells them how hard it is to quit?How does an overweight, sedentary, man, start exercising if he keeps telling himself that it’s hard and that he will fail?At another level, do you believe that a Major League baseball player walks up to the plate muttering, “I can’t get a hit . . . “?

This is how your mind works:Expect the worst, get the worst.

Coue teaches us to think positively.Just get “a little bit better” every day.

This is ALSO how your mind works: What your mind imagines, your mind manifests.

Our minds are actually very simple tools.Don’t tell a neurologist that I said that!Simple instructions are processed very simply.I you keep telling your mind that you will be nervous speaking, you will be nervous speaking.But if you tell your mind that you will NOT be nervous speaking, guess what?You WILL be nervous speaking!Your mind hears “nervous” and generates nervousness.The classic example is telling someone, “Don’t think of a purple elephant.”They can’t NOT think about it until after they think about it.

This is the beauty of Coue’s Positive Affirmation!Coue doesn’t tell us to say what we don’t want.Coue’s phrase leads us to improvement, getting better, every day.Not tomorrow, not next week, month or year.Tomorrow never comes.When the clock strikes midnight, it’s not tomorrow.Tomorrow has become today.What are we going to do today?We’re going to get better!This makes perfect sense.

How can we use this in specific cases?

What about our smoker mentioned above?Instead of “tomorrow, I’m going to smoke less”.They can use, “Each day, I will reduce the number of cigarettes I smoke” or even, “I will not smoke in the car anymore.”Better yet, “Each time that I resist the temptation to smoke, I will feel better, breath easier and notice the improved taste and smell of the food that I eat.”Each and every day.Not “tomorrow”.

Our overweight man?“Every time that I exercise, the resulting soreness is the feeling of my body healing and getting stronger.”Our baseball player can tell himself, “I’ve been successful throughout my career.When I get in the batter’s box, I am relaxed and prepared for the next pitch.”

Other sports?Other goals?Even being a better hypnotist or hypnotherapist, positive affirmations lead to improvement.

What if you have difficulty believing your affirmation?More on that later.